Health Magazines Ranked St. Louis Near Bottom in Ranking of Worst Cities for Women
ST. LOUIS, MO, (BUSINESS WIRE), December 28, 2008 - The editors of Men's Health and Women's Health magazines reveal the first-ever ranking of America's Best & Worst Cities for Women and the eighth annual ranking of America's Best & Worst Cities for Men. The lists appear in the January/February editions of both magazines.
Topping the healthiest cities list for women is Salt Lake City, Utah while Madison, Wisconsin took the top spot for the men's list. The worst cities for women and men are Bakersfield, California and Charleston, West Virginia, respectively.
The magazines' editors tallied 38 different factors to determine the rankings, including cancer rates, air quality and number of gym memberships. The analysis took into consideration 100 of America's largest cities (from all 50 states) and focused on the overall health, fitness and quality of life for their residents. The comprehensive report focuses specifically on major cities, not their suburbs, and utilizes data from sources such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Census Bureau, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Labor.
Seven cities overlap with high rankings on healthy living for both men and women (in the top ten spots): Aurora, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin; Minneapolis, Minnesota; San Francisco and San Jose, California; Salt Lake City, Utah and Seattle, Washington.
The bottom ten spots on both lists include Bakersfield, California; Birmingham, Alabama; Charleston, West Virginia; Detroit, Michigan; Memphis, Tennessee; St. Louis, Missouri (#99) and St. Petersburg, Florida.
The top ten best and worst cities for each gender are featured in the print editions of Men's Health and Women's Health magazines.
Mattel Settles Suit Over Sale of Toys Containing Excessive Lead Paint
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), December 28, 2008 - Toy manufacturer Mattel and its subsidiary Fisher Price will implement stringent procedures to avoid manufacturing products with lead paint and pay the state of Missouri $488,878 under a consent judgment obtained by the Attorney General's Office. Missouri was part of the executive committee that negotiated the $12 million nationwide settlement involving 42 states, filed today in Cole County Circuit Court.
Following a series of recalls of Mattel and Fisher Price products in 2007, the Attorney General's Office launched a 16-month investigation into the events that led to the recall, the company's quality assurance testing and procedures, and Mattel's recall procedures. At the time of the recalls, the standard permitted for lead in accessible surface coatings was 600 parts per million.
Lead levels taken of the recalled toys during the course of the states' investigation uncovered amounts in excess of this standard. In some instances, surface coatings tested at over 10,000 and 50,000 parts per million.
Since the investigation, Mattel has implemented more stringent quality control procedures, in cooperation with the Attorneys General. Today's agreement reached by the Attorneys General includes tougher standards for accessible lead in toys, effective for toys manufactured after November 30, 2008. Since the Attorneys General first began investigating Mattel in August 2007, Congress has enacted the Consumer Product Safety Improvements Act (CPSIA) which now provides more stringent standards for the amount of lead in toys starting in February 2009. Missouri's Attorney General Office was instrumental in ensuring this federal law contains strong enforcement provisions.
Mattel has agreed with the Attorneys General to phase in the tougher standards ahead of the timelines provided by the CPSIA. Mattel has also agreed with the Attorneys General to notify them if it confirms excessive lead in any of its products and to work with the Attorneys General to remedy such violations.
In addition, Mattel will pay $12 million to the participating states, including $488,878 to the state of Missouri, to resolve the case.
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